Coaching Staff in 2008-09 (Guard) June 2011
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
PAGE TITLE HEAD COACH RONNIE ARROW HEAD COACH RONNIE ARROW Southwest Texas State ’69 13th Season 323-235 overall, 189-144 at South Alabama In his second go-around at the school monic Tilford, and the Jaguars led the conference in four categories. where he began his Division I coaching career in 1987, head coach Ronnie Arrow The 2009-10 season was a monumental one as Arrow eclipsed three major career mile- has not skipped a beat. In his fi fth sea- stones. He became the school’s all time wins leader on Jan. 16, surpassing Cliff Ellis’s son since his return to South Alabama in record of 171 victories. Arrow’s 300th win as a Division I coach came in grand style Nov. 2007, Arrow has already posted two 20- 29 at Arkansas, the fi rst of two triumphs against SEC opponents, and his 600th win at win campaigns and earned a trip to the all college levels was an 83-67 home victory over Alcorn State. NCAA Tournament. He passed another milestone the next season by becoming the third coach in league Now entering his 13th overall season at USA, Arrow holds a 189-144 record with three history to record 100 conference wins. Already South Alabama’s career leader in SBC NCAA Tournament appearances and three Sun Belt Conference crowns. He fi rst guided wins with 102, Arrow needs two league victories to move into second place and 10 to the Jaguars from 1987-94, posting a 114-93 (55.1%) record in the eight-year stint. become the Sun Belt’s all-time leader. An accomplished coach at both the Division A major bright spot for the 2010-11 season I and junior college level for 30 years, Ar- was the development of Augustine Rubit, row has accumulated a combined 625-278 who enjoyed one of the best freshman mark at South Alabama, Texas A&M-Corpus campaigns in school history. Rubit became Christi and San Jacinto Junior College. In- South Alabama’s second-ever Sun Belt cluded in that total are three junior college Freshman of the Year after ranking sixth in national championships and four trips to Division I and fi rst among freshmen in re- the NCAA Tournament. bounding (11.0). Rubit was named to two freshman All-America teams in addition to A three-time Sun Belt Coach of the Year, being the fi rst USA frosh to earn all-Sun Belt Arrow ranks third all-time among Sun Belt honors. coaches in league wins and has just three losing seasons in league play in his long Prior to his return to USA, Arrow compiled career. a 134-91 (59.6%) mark at TAMU-CC in- cluding three straight 20-win seasons in After leading Texas A&M-Corpus Christi to his last three years with the program. In its fi rst-ever NCAA Tournament appear- addition to guiding the Islanders to the ance in 2007, Arrow returned to South NCAA Tournament in 2007, he led them to Alabama and promptly guided the Jaguars a school-record 26-7 fi nish and the South- to a school-record 26 victories, the Sun Belt land Conference title their fi rst year in the Conference East Division title and a berth league, earning coach-of-the-year honors in the NCAA postseason. For his eff orts, he for his work. was selected the Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. Long before the Islanders threatened No. 2 seed Wisconsin in the national tournament, Arrow wasn’t the only individual recognized they made a name for themselves defeat- in the program, though, as he helped De- ing the likes of South Florida out of the Big metric Bennett (First Team), Daon Merritt East Conference and Texas Christian of the (Second Team), Brandon Davis and Do- Mountain West for the second straight sea- monic Tilford (both Third Team) earn All- son in 2005-06. Despite a one-point loss to Sun Belt accolades after the Jags fi nished Big 12 Conference member Missouri on its 16-2 in league action. In addition, he and home court, Arrow brought the Islanders Bennett were honored by the National As- from the ground up to become a contender sociation of Basketball Coaches (NABC) with schools from the power conferences. — Arrow was the organization’s District 6 Coach of the Year while Bennett was a First Team All-District choice. In 2004, Arrow put TAMU-CC on the national map as it defeated Florida State 70-67 in Tallahassee and followed with an upset win over Old Dominion, handing the Monarchs Arrow and the Jaguars followed that up with a 20-13 campaign in 2008-09 and ad- one of their fi ve losses that season. In addition to those victories, Arrow’s Islanders vanced to the SBC Tournament championship game. The team fi nished strong, winning defeated Texas Tech, Texas A&M and 2004 NCAA Tournament qualifi er Murray State. eight of its last 10 and knocking off the No. 3 and No. 2 seeds before falling to top- seeded Western Kentucky. Arrow took over the Islanders in 1998 when the school moved to Division I, fi nishing with six seasons with a .500 or better record while guiding the school to a regular-sea- Three players earned all-Sun Belt honors: Brandon Davis, DeAndré Coleman and Do- son and tournament championship in their only season in the Southland Conference. 2011-12 South Alabama Men’s Basketball >> 24 HEAD COACH RONNIE ARROW Before moving to Texas A&M- Corpus Christi, Arrow knew all THE ARROW FILE about rising from the ashes. COLLEGE EXPERIENCE At the end of the 1990-91 South Alabama (12 years) season at USA, he was named 1987-94, 2007- ............................189-144 (.568) the Sun Belt Coach of the Year Texas A&M-Corpus Christi (eight years) for the second time after en- 1999-07 .........................................134-91 (.596) CAREER TOTAL (20 years) ................... 323-235 (.579) gineering the most dramatic turnaround in league history. JUNIOR COLLEGE EXPERIENCE That year, his Jaguars became San Jacinto Junior College (10 years) the fi rst SBC squad ever to 1977-87 .........................................302-43 (.875) leap from last to fi rst place in a CAREER TOTAL (30 years) ................... 625-278 (.692) single season. Picked to fi nish ASSISTANT COACHING EXPERIENCE fi fth in the conference, South San Jacinto Junior College (two years) Alabama went on to capture 1975-77 the league crown with an 11-3 Sam Houston State (two years) mark. 1970-72 HIGH SCHOOL EXPERIENCE The Jags, who fi nished the Pasadena (Texas) High School (three years) The Arrow Family: Eddie, Ailey and Ansley Shirazi, Nelda and Ronnie season with a 22-9 record, 1972-75 swept through the conference tournament and advanced to PLAYING EXPERIENCE the NCAA Tournament before falling to Utah in a fi rst-round tilt. Southwest Texas State (three years) 1966-69 (guard) In 1987, Arrow took over at South Alabama for Mike Hanks as the school’s fi fth head coach. During his time in Mobile, EDUCATION he led the Jags to two NCAA Tournaments, including a thrilling 86-84 win over Alabama in the fi rst round of the 1989 Southwest Texas State NCAA Tournament — still the school’s only victory in the event — in just his second season at the helm. South Ala- B.S., Health & Physical Education, 1969 bama lost to eventual national champion Michigan in the second round and fi nished the season with a 23-9 record. Sam Houston State M.S., Education, 1972 Arrow was named Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year after winning conference regular-season and tournament titles. HONORS NABC District 6 Coach of the Year Over the years, Arrow has developed a reputation in the collegiate basketball circles for up-tempo, high-scoring teams. 2008 His squads led the SBC in scoring four of his fi rst seven seasons at USA. His 1988-89 squad set a school and league Conference Coach of the Year record with a 91 points-per-game average, and fi ve of his seven teams tallied at least 80 points per outing. Sun Belt — 1989, 1991, 2008 Southland — 2007 NJCAA National Coach of the Year Prior to South Alabama, Arrow served as head coach at San Jacinto Junior College from 1977-87. He tallied an impres- 1983, 1986 sive 302-43 (87.5%) record and guided the Ravens to 10 TJCAC titles, as well as NJCAA championships in 1983, ’84 NJCAA Region XIV Coach of the Year and ’86. He was tabbed the NJCAA Region XIV Coach of the Year in 1983, ’84, ’86, ’87, and the National Coach of the 1983, 1984, 1986, 1987 Year in 1983 and 1986. His 1985-86 squad led the nation National Independent Coach of the Year 2000, 2005 in scoring, averaging 101 points per game. NATIONAL TITLES In junior college, Arrow coached several players who went 1983 NJCAA on to enjoy careers in the National Basketball Association: 1984 NJCAA Walter Berry, Alton Lister, Ladell Eackles and Larry Spriggs. 1986 NJCAA Additionally, he led the 1989 United States Junior World CONFERENCE TITLES Cup Team to the gold medal in Uruguay with future NBA 2008 Sun Belt (East Division) stars Grant Hill, Calbert Cheaney and Allan Houston. 2007 Southland 1991 Sun Belt Arrow was a two-year all-Lone Star Conference honoree 1989 Sun Belt and a three-year letterman at Southwest Texas State. After PLAYER HONORS graduating from STS (now Texas State) with a bachelor’s Two honorable mention All-Americans degree in health and physical education in 1969, he began Three Independent Players of the Year his coaching career by serving as a graduate assistant at Two all-region selections Sam Houston State.